I am running for Clark Public Utility District Commissioner because I, and others, believe at least one commissioner should have the technical background and experience to ask the right technical questions and to evaluate staff technical performance.

Clark PUD, by going off the Bonneville Power Administration system for all but about 1% of our power supply in the mid 1990s, caused our rates to go from among the lowest in the region to among the highest. We were lucky that we were able return to BPA for a little over half of our power supply in 2000. That transition cost the PUD rate payers over $100 million, a debt that was recently paid off.

Most of the remainder of our supply comes from the natural gas fired River Road Power Plant. River Road is a fine facility and well managed but the cost of power from that plant has ranged in recent years from a low of two times to over three times BPA rates. The PUD is operating in complex electric and natural gas markets and has chosen to shift from having BPA manage meeting their hour to hour load requirements to doing it themselves. Failure to manage these complex energy market operations well could cause unnecessary rate increases and rate volatility.

I graduated from Battle Ground High School, earned an electrical engineering bachelor’s degree from Washington State University, a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Texas A&M University and a master’s degree in management from Stanford University. I worked for Pacific Gas and Electric company in San Francisco for 31 years including positions as Manager of Transmission Planning, Manager of Power Control and Assistant to the President. Since moving home I was recruited by Clark College to develop and teach in the Power Utilities Technology Program. I have the academic background and experience necessary to understand the complex technical issues facing our PUD and keep our rates stable and affordable.

Voters in the election have a clear choice between having a PUD commission with three commissioners with no technical background and a commission with one technically qualified commissioner. I urge you to vote for the committed and qualified candidate – Jim Malinowski

To learn more visit my website jim-malinowski.com.

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It has taken two years of construction, more than 160,000 man hours and 3.8 miles of shelf space, but the Fort Vancouver Regional Library District is ready for its next chapter as it debuts Vancouver’s newest library July 17. The new facility replaces the old main community library that has stood at the corner of Mill Plain and Fort Vancouver Way for nearly fifty years.